The market is thin, it may be unpopular but I would applaud BC if he waits till the season or next year to pick up any big names.

compared to some guys out there i would rather make aceves/tazawa/morales a starter. obviously i would like a reliable starter instead but he still has to fit into our future plans as well. so no long term deals or a big trade that cleans out our farm system.

The market is thin, it may be unpopular but I would applaud BC if he waits till the season or next year to pick up any big names.

compared to some guys out there i would rather make aceves/tazawa/morales a starter. obviously i would like a reliable starter instead but he still has to fit into our future plans as well. so no long term deals or a big trade that cleans out our farm system.

If thats the case..... and we may have the players on roster already, Ben should indicate "confidence" in some of these players and give opportunity to our own..... We do hav a history of "over cooking" our own while "lusting" after other teams "futures" !!!!

i think ben is doing his due dilligence in trying to aquire a sure thing as opposed to giving the spot to someone in the BP and hoping for the best. if no desireable deal comes up i think he will definitely look to fill that role from within. i remember someone posted on here saying morales was told to prepare in the offseason to be a starter and he definitely would be a cantidate to start. aceves is also on that list and damn well should be after getting jerked around last spring training.

in any case, i'm not really worried about that 5th spot as long as ben doesnt sign a complete loser to fill it. either get a reliable 200 inning guy or give it to someone from the BP.

Trading Lester in a Blockbuster would be giving a ToR starter up to hopefully acquire one...unless the return is King Felix (which is not happening) or equivalent, then it doesn't make sense. I am not ready to give up on Lester being the ToR guy he was expected to be up to the end of 2011.

What market is there for Ellsbury and what is his potential return value right now?? I remember seeing a rumor that involved Texas and Derek Holland, well Holland is no ToR starter and the Sox would be better off keeping Ellsbury and signing one of the remaining free agents.

Oh and Bill, forget about Ben giving us a sign...that would be playing into the hands of other teams, especially the ones they are talking to about a deal.

Between now and February he will address the starting rotation issue...but Sox fans should not be expecting a top rotation starter coming this way...my guess is the best they get is a #3.

No one should be panicking over the LA or KC/TB moves. Paying Greinke almost $25 million per year (he's good, but not nearly that good) or trading Lester for a position player prospect both would have been very unwise, and I'm glad Ben C did not do either.

We still need pitching, as we did a week ago. I don't see how anything has changed from the Red Sox perspective (except perhaps that the market may start to move a little quicker now that Greinke has signed, and we could see some news soon on guys like Sanchez, Marcum, etc).

i am also happy that the sox did nothing in the cases of signing greinke or trading lester for an outfield prospect at this time.

masterson may turn out to be a better pitcher than a number 5 starter, but at least he has experience as a starter and is not injured at this time. he could provide 180 to 220 innings in 2013. trading a catcher for him would not be a bad idea. i could see saltalamacchia going to cleveland for masterson and a lower level prospect.

i am also happy that the sox did nothing in the cases of signing greinke or trading lester for an outfield prospect at this time.

masterson may turn out to be a better pitcher than a number 5 starter, but at least he has experience as a starter and is not injured at this time. he could provide 180 to 220 innings in 2013. trading a catcher for him would not be a bad idea. i could see saltalamacchia going to cleveland for masterson and a lower level prospect.

Are we only interested in innings eaters or getting qulaity starts from the guys in the rotation?? I prefer quality starts and let the manager and pitching coach worry about how many innings the starter goes. Give me a solid 6-7 innings from the starter and I'm good.

Having a starter like Lackey was before he was injured is not what I am looking for...he gave us plenty of innings and 5-6 runs while he was in there...not good.

i am also happy that the sox did nothing in the cases of signing greinke or trading lester for an outfield prospect at this time.

masterson may turn out to be a better pitcher than a number 5 starter, but at least he has experience as a starter and is not injured at this time. he could provide 180 to 220 innings in 2013. trading a catcher for him would not be a bad idea. i could see saltalamacchia going to cleveland for masterson and a lower level prospect.

Are we only interested in innings eaters or getting qulaity starts from the guys in the rotation?? I prefer quality starts and let the manager and pitching coach worry about how many innings the starter goes. Give me a solid 6-7 innings from the starter and I'm good.

Having a starter like Lackey was before he was injured is not what I am looking for...he gave us plenty of innings and 5-6 runs while he was in there...not good.

masterson shows flashes of brilliance. the beginning of last season he was lights out. he just needs to be in a good system and with good coaches to stay consistent.. i would not be opposed to re-aquiring him because it likely would not cost us any of our top guys. but on the issue of quality vs quantity we definitely need quantity.

4 starters are set. with our 5th would you rather have a guy who will only make 20(ish) starts and 140-160 innings? or a guy who makes 30 starts and 200+ innings. to really make an accurate answer you have to consider what yuor going to get in those innings pitched when pitcher X is not on the mound (the guy who makes the other 10 starts instead of him). you could catch a break and it could be morales/aceves who gets those starts or it could be andrew miller, kyle weiland (2011) cook, dice-k (2012). if thats the case i will take the lesser pitcher who will give me 30/200+ than the combination of a better injury ridden pitcher + a filler like the aforementioned.

in a perfect world i would sign a guy who will give me 30/200+ with a sub-3 ERA and a whip of around 1.10 (an ace)

i don't doubt that every sox fan wants the best quality starting pitching, but getting the best quality is not as easy as some think.

greinke is supposedly the best available this year and he just cost the dodgers $25M per season for six years. first, i do not think that he will perform anywhere near what he is going to get in salary for the next six years. he will be very tough to trade if he flops in los angeles. and, the sox are seemingly not willing to spend that kind of money for that many years after failing with so many other similar contracts in the last few years.

so, the key to improving the rotation will be to find some guys (like masterson, perhaps) who can be acquired for much less money, talent and years and hope that this type of guy can produce better than what we all might expect from what we know of him right now.

i use r.a. dickey as a good example. last year he won 20 games even at age 37 and he certainly has not been a perennial all star for the last ten to fifteen years.

masterson could come to boston and win 15 to 18 games. or, he could win that many in cleveland or he could flop and win maybe only five games in either city. he is certainly not a guarantee, but neither is greneike.

Just to clarify... I think Franklin Morales should be in the rotation next year., but you can never get enough pitching...

I admittedly have always been a big fan of Masterson. There have been flashes of excellence, and I think it's a matter of maturity and working with the right people. I think he has #3 starter material and it's a matter of getting the best out of him. He is also a workhorse. That helps the bp stay healthy and fresh.

We just don't know what is going to happen with the rest of the starting rotation. How is Lackey going to bounce back? Is Lester going to get it turned around? Who is going to get hurt in ST? Masterson is a good fit (with a plus upside) and we seem to have an abundance of catchers at this time.

And Tazawa stays put in bp for now. We don't know how Bailey or Bard is going to be this year either. Aceves is better as a long reliever.

Please someone tell me what is the love affair with masterson. He is average at best and I think Tazawa or morales probably would be better.

hes a naitive and has great stuff. just has trouble putting it all together on a consistent basis. i believe a return to his childhood team (not to mention the team that drafted him) and working with farrel we can finally crack that nut and make him a good pitcher (much like we did with andrew miller). IMHO he just needs a bit more refining from the right people and he could be a great number 3 or even a number 2.

Please someone tell me what is the love affair with masterson. He is average at best and I think Tazawa or morales probably would be better.

hes a naitive and has great stuff. just has trouble putting it all together on a consistent basis. i believe a return to his childhood team (not to mention the team that drafted him) and working with farrel we can finally crack that nut and make him a good pitcher (much like we did with andrew miller). IMHO he just needs a bit more refining from the right people and he could be a great number 3 or even a number 2.

Mef, seems we are both on the same page. I just think his best years are still ahead. I would love to see him back in a RS uni.

now ben needs to get a middle of the order bat be it hamilton, j.upton, stanton plus a top of the rotation starter. i would aim to add a top of the rotation starter plus anibal sanchez. unfortunately josh johnson is already on the jays so im not sure who is available via the trade market in terms of starters. forget ra dickey, 1 year wonder knuckballer is not what this team needs. the only guy who could potentially be an ace that could be availabe is tim lincecum. might not be a bad option if the price is reasonable,

lincecum

lester

sanchez

buchholz

lackey

not too shabby, though we could also go the young pitcher route and attemp to trade for trevor bauer who has immense potential to go along with sanchez sign,

lester

sanchez

buchholz

lackey

bauer

interesting, but not sure it would be enough to make the sox a legit contender.

in terms of bats, we need a middle of the order bat. basically, a bat to replace gonzo. hamilton is the best free agent option and would require the sox to give up a 2nd round pick. on a 4 year deal im all for hamilton, maybe 5 years tops. in terms of trades, justin upton is on the block and would be a good choice, and giancarlo stanton could possibly be had, but the rumor that the marlins are asking for 3 top prospects could scare the sox away. (though i would give up bradley, webster, and anyone not name boegarts for him). but say the sox sign hamilton and use the prospects to get a pitcher,

ellsbury

pedroia

hamilton

ortiz

napoli

middlebrooks

victorino

lavarnway

iglesias

looks good but the only problem is that even with hamilton in the fold, the sox lack a legit 3/4 combo. but there is depth in that line up for sure.